twenty-something

90s-Something, you say? But it's been so long -- I don't remember what happend. How about a quick third-person recap?

When last we left our hero, he was caught between two men -- his soccer-playing high school boyfriend, Parker, and his old crush-turned-long-distance-lover, Adam. Forcing himself to choose, he picked Parker. In the aftermath, Adam declared he would never speak to him again and Parker ended their dysfunctional relationship... Young Patrick was left standing alone.

Catch up on all the 90s drama from '97, Part Eight right here.

Here's a small taste of what's to come in Part Nine:

I am sitting on the kitchen floor, curled into a ball, the bulky cordless pressed to my ear, ringing. My family sleeps. I hide there in the shadows made by the faint over-sink light. Looking back, I feel I should be crying. But I don't. I'm not.

He answers.

"It's me," I whisper.

I cringe, waiting for the hang-up. It doesn't come. Instead I hear him breathing. I can almost hear his heart racing. Just like mine.

Finally, he sighs. Stone cold, but voice vaguely trembling, Adam speaks...